2013 Capital One Bowl: Georgia coach Mark Richt 'excited' to face Nebraska

The Georgia Bulldogs may not be heading to a BCS bowl game after their 32-28 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game, but the Capital One Bowl is not a bad consolation prize. Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt is pleased with the selection and looking forward to playing the Nebraska Cornhuskers on New Year's Day (via Dog Bytes Online):

"I'm really excited for our team and especially our seniors with the opportunity to play in the Capital One Bowl which is one of the premier January bowl games in the greatest of entertainment areas," Richt said in a statement. "And to play a team with the history and tradition of Nebraska will be an exciting experience for our team and coaches but also for our fans. Very few of our current players were on the 2008 team so this will be the first time most members of our team have the opportunity to play in Orlando and enjoy the fantastic attractions. The opportunity to play a top quality opponent like Nebraska will be a challenge we'll look forward to."

Georgia finished the season 11-2 and No. 7 in the final BCS standings, but was not eligible for a BCS bowl game because Alabama and Florida both finished ahead of the Bulldogs in the standings. The Capital One Bowl has first selection of SEC teams after the BCS, so the Bulldogs were an easy choice.

This will be Richt's third trip to the Capital One Bowl as head coach of Georgia. It is the first time since the Bulldogs beat the Michigan State Spartans 24-12 in the 2009 game.